Submission Deadline:  March 10, 2008

 

The AAPM Program Committee invites members to submit proposals for scientific sessions and workshops to be presented at the AAPM 25th Annual Meeting.

 

Theme

 

The Annual Program Committee invites proposals highlighting the multidisciplinary nature of pain in underscoring safety, efficacy, and improving patient outcomes. Scientific Sessions conducted at the 25th Annual Meeting will seek to enhance one of two concurrent scientific session tracks - I Interventional Track or the Integrative Track (behavioral, medical, psychosocial and rehabilitative topics) of Pain Medicine.

 

 

General Information

 

Proposals will be reviewed by the Program Committee, and evaluated based on the quality of the proposed programs and their relevance to the pain community. The proposed programs must demonstrate scientific rigor and objectivity and be free of commercial bias for or against any product.

 

The Program Committee will review all proposals and will take one of the following actions:  (1) accept the proposal as is; (2) modify the proposal; or (3) reject the proposal.  Decisions to accept, modify or reject will be based in part on the number and quality of proposals received, the number of program slots available, whether proposed content duplicates other sessions that are being planned, and whether proposal meets identified educational needs of the membership.  Possible modifications that the committee may suggest could include: change of faculty, change of program length and format, combination with another program, etc.  If a proposal is accepted, a member of the committee will be assigned to work with the session organizer to finalize the program and discuss any modifications.  Individuals submitting proposals must read and comply with the policies described below.

 

NOTE:   This Call for Proposals is for use by individuals only.  Corporate members who wish to submit a proposal must use the “Guidelines for Commercially Supported Symposia” and “Proposal for Commercially Supported Symposia” form.

 

 

Instructions

 

All proposals must be submitted online at www.painmed.org.  As soon as you initiate a proposal, you will be assigned an ID# and password for that proposal. The ID and password will be found at the top of the left hand navigation panel, called the “Session Control Panel.”  You will also receive an email confirming the ID# and password.

 

There are seven steps to submitting a session proposal:

1.        Setup Session: Enter the title of your proposed session. Also please provide an overview of the proposed session, including its purpose, relevance and importance. You will need to enter three Learning Objectives as well.Make sure to fill out this page in its entirety.

2.        List organizers, presenters and approximate presentation durations: Provide your name and contact information as the session organizer/submitter. List the proposed moderator (this may be same person as the session organizer) and presenters for the session.  Include information about the approximate amount of time required for the session and presentation sections.

3.        List faculty: Provide the names and complete contact information for all suggested presenters in the session. You must also enter the titles of their presentations and the suggested length of each presentation. Please enter the speakers in the order in which you would like them to present.

4.        Faculty disclosure: Beginning this year, you are required to disclose any relevant relationships with commercial interests for all presenters at this time. You may provide individual presenters with the URL to the online application, and the ID# and Password assigned to this proposal, and ask them to complete the disclosure information as directed.

5.        Review and proof: Please review all you have entered, if you need to make a change please click on setup session.

6.        Confirmation: Once all is complete, please click on confirmation to complete your submission.

7.        Revisions or withdrawals: You may access your proposal to revise it or withdraw it at any time before the submission deadline with the ID# and Password assigned to this proposal.

 

Policies

 

Definition of CME

 

Continuing medical education (CME) “consists of educational activities that serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills, professional competence and relationships a physician uses to provide services for patients, the public, or the profession.  The content of CME is the body of knowledge and skills generally recognized and accepted by the profession as within the basic medical sciences, the discipline of clinical medicine, and the provision of health care to the public.” Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Policy 1982-B-03

 

Validation of clinical content of CME activities

 

As an ACCME accredited provider of continuing medical education, AAPM requires that all of its educational programs comply with ACCME policy 2002-B-09, which states that:

 

All the recommendations involving clinical medicine in a CME activity must be based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indications or contraindications in the care of patients.

 

All scientific research referred to in support or justification of a patient care recommendation must conform to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection and analysis. 

 

All recommendations, treatment, or manners of practicing medicine discussed in a CME activity must be within the definition of CME and must not be known (a) to have risks or dangers that outweigh the benefits or (b) to be ineffective in the treatment of patients.

 

All speakers in AAPM CME activities will be asked to cite the best available evidence in support of any patient care recommendations made in the course of their presentations.

 

Content and format of CME activities

 

The content and format of the program must promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific-proprietary business interest of a commercial interest.  Presentations must give a balanced view of therapeutic options.

 

 

 

Independence of CME activities

 

In order to maintain the independence of the CME provider, the following decisions cannot be made by any commercial interest: 

 

·          Identification of CME needs

·          Determination of educational objectives

·          Selection and presentation of content

·          Selection of all persons and organizations that will be in a position to control the content of the CME

·          Selection of education methods

·          Evaluation of the activity

 

Disclosure of financial relationships

 

In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education’s Standards for Commercial Support, all planners, faculty, and authors involved in the development of CME content are required to disclose to the accredited provider their relevant financial relationships.  An individual has a relevant financial relationship if he or she has a financial relationship in any amount occurring in the last 12 months with a commercial interest whose products or services are discussed in the CME activity content over which the individual has control.  Relevant financial relationships will be disclosed to the activity audience. 

 

Conflict of Interest

 

ACCME defines a conflict of interest as occurring when an individual responsible for planning, authoring, or teaching in a CME activity has both (1) a financial relationship with a commercial interest, and  (2) the opportunity to affect the content of CME about the products or services of that commercial interest.  AAPM shall resolve all conflicts of interest prior to the education activity being delivered to learners.

 

Commercial support

 

Individuals submitting proposals may not accept commitments from industry in support of the proposed program, or accept any promises of honoraria or expense reimbursement related to the program from industry.  Any and all commercial support for Annual Meeting programs must be coordinated by AAPM and paid to AAPM in the form of an educational grant.

 

More information about the regulation of commercial support in the context of continuing medical information can be found in the ACCME’s Standards for Commercial Support of Continuing Medical Education and the AMA’s Ethical Guidelines on Gifts to Physicians from Industry which may be accessed at http://www.accme.org/dir_docs/doc_upload/68b2902a-fb73-44d1-8725-80a1504e520c_uploaddocument.pdf

and www.ama-assn.org/go/ethicalgifts.  Additional guidelines regarding ACCME policy regarding commercial support and disclosure can be can be found at http://www.accme.org/index.cfm/fa/Policy.policy/Policy_id/9456ae6f-61b5-4e80-a330-7d85d5e68421.cfm.

 

Honoraria

 

Invited speakers will receive honoraria payments for their presentation in the Annual Meeting as determined by AAPM policy.   Invited speakers will also be reimbursed for standard coach airfare and standard overnight accommodations at the headquarters hotel as provided in AAPM policy.  All payments will be made by AAPM; no other payments may be made to the director of the program or to the faculty.